KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has urged Norway to help expedite a refund of more than RM1 billion (US$251.5 million) for a scrapped missile procurement deal,\u00a0insisting that Oslo cannot absolve itself of responsibility.<\/p>\n
Malaysia Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said on Tuesday (Jun 2) that he had recently met his Norway counterpart\u00a0Tore O Sandvik and conveyed that the root cause of the issue was Norway\u2019s decision to\u00a0revoke the export license.<\/p>\n
“The source of everything is Norway\u2019s decision not to approve the export licence to Malaysia,\u201d Khaled was quoted as saying at the sidelines of an event at Kota Tinggi Bus and Taxi Terminal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, Norway cannot wash its hands of this matter because its decision caused the problem,” he added.<\/p>\n
Khaled said that he had told Sandvik\u00a0that if Norway was sincere about maintaining bilateral relations with Malaysia, it should help facilitate the refund process, reported\u00a0Malaysian news outlet The Star.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if Norway truly wants to maintain its friendship with Malaysia, it can help by prioritising the return of more than RM1 billion,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Khaled suggested that the Norwegian government should consider advancing repayment before seeking reimbursement from the Norwegian defence firm Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA),\u00a0which Malaysia had contracted for the missiles.<\/p>\n
“The company that cannot fulfil the contract is a Norwegian company. As a government, Norway can negotiate with the company rather than force Malaysia to wait indefinitely,” he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n